"Don't Touch My Junk!"

In any case, the TSA screener advised Tyner that the pat-down process would include brushing against his groin. "We're going to be doing a groin check," the screener says. And to this Tyner replies, "You touch my junk and I'm going to have you arrested."

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I'd expect Mr. Tyner's line to launch a thousand interviews, but he probably can't fly to any of them.

I saw this jerk and I'm glad they wouldn't let him on the plane. I did agree with one of the male passenger they interviewed who went through the full-body screening and said "Heck, if somebody gets turned on looking at this old body, good for them! Have a nice day!"

Touch my junk all you want (though I'd not recommend lingering), if that's what it takes for me to not die in a fireball in the sky.

As for those who (unlike this guy) are TRULY protesting/yelling about the invasion of privacy blah blah blah ... maybe we can have flights for those who want to not die in a sky terror episode, and those who want to whine about having their boxers, turbans, shoes, or what-not searched.

Let 'em retain 100% of their precious rights - that were written before flying and techno terrorism was imaginable - and with that let them live (or die) with the heightened chance of being a terror victim. Meanwhile, my scanned and/or felt up friends and I will enjoy our safer rides.

Well, I think your reply needs a reality check. If you think there is any hope of improving safety for people without intruding on their privacy in various ways you're sadly mistaken. People want to be safe but they want to be left alone all under the guise of 'freedom' and 'privacy'. It's a nice thought, but not really possible.

I appreciate you might be uncomfortable with the idea of someone touching your private parts. I am, too, to a degree.

The only way to make things perfectly safe is to basically follow everyone around and track their every move...and check them thoroughly at various times. Not practical. Too expensive. Public wouldn't stand for it. Got it. There's not even enough money or time to check all checked baggage. So, we're limited in what we can do.

But there are attempts that compromise a little bit of privacy for the sake of improved safety. Because of what I just said, no, skies would never be 100% safe. But, we can improve safety by being super diligent about checking people and their possessions as best we can prior to the plane taking off. That's the big picture people should be buying in to. Correlating a groin pat to safe skies is a very narrow and impractical perspective on what's happening here. I think more people might get on board with the current solution by dialing into the bigger strategy as the government is doing what it thinks is best with the resources it has for the sake of what will never be 'safe' flying -- but certainly safer.

These replies sadden me. Are you all really that ready to submit to OTT government intrusion in exchange for the illusion of "safe" flying?

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On the one hand it is unfortunate that we have to go through this intrusion....I've always liked that saying by Ben Franklin that goes something like "those who would give up essential liberties for security deserve neither". There must be a better way, some technology out there that would permit screening without such invasion of personal space.

However, taking it out on the poor TSA agent is ridiculous. Does Mr. "Don't touch my junk" really think that the TSA agents get some sort of thrill from feeling up strangers? It's their job. And it's a sucky job. They have to put their hands on hundreds of strangers a day. And I'm sure they're very much aware that they're invading peoples personal space and angering or humiliating them. You'd have to be quite the sociopath to enjoy a job that involves that. So, sorry Mr. "Don't touch my junk", but it's not always about you. Or your junk. Get over yourself.

(Of course, it will probably be a bit more difficult for me to feel sorry for the TSA agents if I'm the one getting patted down the next time I fly.)

So when the next terrorist attempt involves a tampon like device all of you people are ready to lay back on a table, spread them and let some stranger off the street stick their fingers up you??

As for TSA agents, they need better training. Flown enough to know that the odd palms down body rub I get from the odd TSA agent is not the same I get in other places where they use the side of their hand.

Also just saw a bit on TV about some child (looked to be about 6) screaming and yelling for the TSA agent to stop touching her. The video showed this agent wrapping both hands around the legs etc. gliding up and down. I fly with my kids and one of them is 12. In EVERY instance that she gets picked for a random search they swab her hands because they are NOT allowed to pat down children 12 and under. If that's not the same policy of the TSA then people should be objecting and asking questions. Keep accepting whatever they throw at you and you´ll be having rectal and vaginal exams at the airports.

As for those who (unlike this guy) are TRULY protesting/yelling about the invasion of privacy blah blah blah ... maybe we can have flights for those who want to not die in a sky terror episode, and those who want to whine about having their boxers, turbans, shoes, or what-not searched.

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yes please, I'd like that flight.

you know, I generally enjoy your posts, but you've really touched a nerve here. god knows I'm no tea-partyist, and I'm not even particularly modest, but I'm horrified as a law-abiding citizen that my government believes it has the right to undress me while I go about my lawful business.

sure, I want safety, but 100% safety is not possible. life is risky. get over it. I'm not willing to trade that much dignity for the illusion of safety. beacuse these machines don't make us safer, not when the money spent on them- (I've heard diffferent figures- but generally between $150,000 and $200,000, or ten times what a metal detector costs (oh, and by the way, Chertoff, who made to the decision to use them, invested heavily in the company that makes the machines. was he thinking safety, or ka-ching?)- the money spent on them could be better spent on screening cargo- most of which is not scanned before loaded onto a plane).

yes, bad people want to kill me for the crime of having been born American. and guess what? even if we start randomly pulling peple aside for cavity searches, and one of them will almost certainly succeed in blowing up a plane. and yet I'm more frightened of you, because you see nothing wrong with trading in my right to not be sexually assaulted so that you can pretend that you are safe.

oh, and by the way, there's no opt-out for children. so either your kid will be photographed naked (and doused with radiation in the process), or molested by a stranger. we may disagree on whether that's acceptable for an adult, but if you think it's ok to put a kid through this so, again, you can pretend that you're safe, you're sick.

Does Mr. "Don't touch my junk" really think that the TSA agents get some sort of thrill from feeling up strangers? It's their job. And it's a sucky job. They have to put their hands on hundreds of strangers a day.

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one of the more interesting arguments I ever heard against torture was about what it does to the torturer. the problems were: some became terribly distraught by what their 'job' entailed. and some got to like it.

Besides, if you don/t want to be patted down, then just walk through the scanner. Or don't fly.

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if you're that frightened by the thought of terrorism, don't fly. also, don't ever leave your house. they could be anywhere.

Not too sure how I feel about the new body scanners, but for me it is a non-issue. I have an artificial heart valve and a pace maker, so I have no choice in the matter. It is a pat down for me whether I like it or not if I want to fly.

Some perv on the street is not the same as government-mandated junk touching. And yes, in this day and age flying is absolutely a necessity for many people, whether for work, to be with our family, to receive medical treatment, or whatever. I'm really shocked at the number of people who blithely accept this as something that improves our safety. I'm no terrorist and I can sit here for a minute or two and come up with about 30 different ways to get around those scanners. But now that we've made Grandma bend over and take one for the team, I guess we can all relax!

Have any of you actually seen the images from the scanners? Because no one is being "photographed naked."

I don't enjoy being groped at the airport, either, so I use the scanner.

And I get that some people who use the scanner also get checked by hand. That also happened with the metal detector.

So some of you who don't want to use the scanner, but don't want the body search, what do you propose? Go back to the metal detectors? (I would be fine with this.) But it seems as if some of you think we should have minimal checking to get on flights. I don't agree with that. As for the "a terrorist is going to get on eventually," I agree. But I would like to make it a bit difficult for them.

The next one might not be as incompetent as the Shoe and Underwear bombers.